Radon is a dangerous,
cancer-causing, radioactive gas that may already be in your home. You can’t see
it, smell it, or taste it but it is a serious health threat to you and your
family. When you breathe air, containing radon, you increase your risk of
getting lung cancer. In fact, the Surgeon General of the United States has
warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer throughout the
United States. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. The National Academy
of Sciences has estimated that each year in the United States, between 15,000
and 22,000 people die from radon related lung cancer. If you smoke and your home
has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.
Radon is found in every
state and all over the world. It can easily penetrate into most buildings. Since
you and your family spend most of your time at home, this is where you are
likely to get the highest concentration of indoor radon exposure.
Surgeon General
of the United States Health Advisory
"Indoor radon gas is a national health problem. Radon causes
thousands of deaths each year. Millions of homes have elevated radon levels.
Most homes should be tested for radon. When elevated levels are confirmed, the
problem should be corrected." |
Radon Testing
If you haven’t already
tested for radon, you need to! Testing is the only way to know if you and your
family are at risk from radon. The EPA and the Surgeon General recommend testing
all homes below the third floor for radon.
Testing is easy and
inexpensive. It should only take a few minutes with a do-it- yourself test kit
and costs approximately $20-$30. They are available at most local home
improvement stores or you can contact a local radon testing company.
Radon Test Results
There are no acceptable levels of radon and the EPA believes that
any radon exposure carries some risk. You can reduce your risk of lung cancer by
lowering your radon level. The average radon levels are estimated to be about
1.3 pCi/L indoors and about 0.4 pCi/L in the outside air. The U.S. Congress has
set a long-term goal that indoor radon levels be no more than outdoor levels.
While this goal is not yet technologically achievable in all cases, most homes
can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below.
According to the EPA,
reducing radon levels by any percentage in your home also reduces your chance of
lung cancer by that same percentage. (Example: if you reduce the radon level in
your home by 50% you have also just reduced your chance of getting radon related
lung cancer by 50%).
EPA
Recommendations and Guidelines
-- Test your Home - It
is easy and inexpensive!
-- Fix your home if your radon level is 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) or
higher.
-- Consider fixing your home if your radon level is between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L.
Radon levels less than 4 pCi/L still pose a risk and you can reduce your risk of
lung cancer by lowering your radon level.
Don't Vent It . . . Prevent It!
Professionally installed
radon remediation systems help a great deal but do very little to stop the flow
of radon from entering your home. They are designed to redirect the radon that
has already entered your home back outside, they are expensive to install,
typically, $1200.00 and up, and even more expensive to operate over time.
There are additional costs
and concerns with these types of radon remediation systems. For example: a fan
running twenty-four (24) hours a day seven (7) days a week, the noise of the
fan, the electricity used to run it, the heat loss from the house and the
ultimate replacement of the fan, which can cost several hundred dollars or more.
With today's high heating and cooling costs it is unthinkable to spend money to
pull the heated or cooled air from your home. These costs are never ending and
can add up quickly. Not to mention they will do nothing to eliminate wet, damp,
unhealthy basements that are a breeding ground for mold and mildew.
Endur-O-Seal USA, Inc.has
chosen a different approach to reducing radon and moisture in your home. We stop
it at the source, the foundation. We don't want it entering in the first place.
The average home can be sealed to prevent radon transmission for a few hundred
dollars. It is a simple, do-it-yourself project that will only take a few hours
to complete. It is probably one of the easiest, safest, and most important
projects you will ever do around the house. What could be more important than
protecting the health of your family?
Once the concrete has been
properly sealed with Radon-Loc concrete sealant it never has to be re-applied.
You will have peace of mind knowing that you have created a safe, usable living
space and reduced the potential for dangerous health problems associated with
radon exposure. According to the EPA, reducing radon levels by any percentage in
your home also reduces your chance of lung cancer by that same percentage.
(Example: if you reduce the radon level in your home by 50% you have also just
reduced your chance of getting radon related lung cancer by 50%).
| "It’s never too
late to reduce your risk of lung cancer. Don’t wait to test and fix a radon
problem. If you are a smoker stop smoking." - A
Citizen’s Guide to Radon, EPA |
|
